The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-11

To the Editor OF the Indi annapolis Journal:
As reported in your columns, on Wednesday
morning James s. Christiancy fatally shot DR..
Eugene B. North, and at midnight the murder
er's life paid the forfeit of his act. Twenty
three masked men were his immediate execu-
TONERS. but eight thousand citizens sat through
out the day in judgment upon him, and with
perfect unanimity pronounced the death SEN
tence. It was I'm partial court. with all OF the
facts before it. Men who never unwisely
formed hasty Judgment in business transac-
ton; men sober. thoughtful, considerate men
whose local pride would lead them consider we'll
the probable consequences of an act affecting the
reputation of this community; men who appre-
ciate the value of human life and the impor-
tance of surrounding II with all of the safeguards
that the law will afford; men of all classes and
all conditions of society, were convinced and ex-
pressed the conviction, that in the light of
recent local happenings. criminals of Christian
cy's class needed the lesson which could only be
taught them by his immediate death.
The Journal does not treat the transaction
with entire fairness to-day. Conceding that ''the
inefhciencies of the law. and the repeated fail
ures of justice in some communities have
sometimes driven honest men to a point where
they have felt justified in self-defense, in
and executing summary justice
notorious desperadoes and criminals" it denies
that any such mitigating circumstances existed
at Peru. Accepting the Journals premises, per-
haps its conclusions are just. II there has been
failure of justice in this county; if the courts
promptly and effectively enforce the penalties
man, then, indeed, his execution was most
atrocious murder. Pardon me, however. if I
assert that your premises are altogether false.
Before entering upon an unqualified denunca-
ton Of an entire community that has hitherto.
certainly. borne good name, ought you not, in
justice. to have taken steps to place yourself in
possession of the facts, instead of drawing in
ferences from the unsatisfactory reports of
local correspondence Because the community
has been long suffering, it is assumed that we
popular outbreak has hitherto followed the fail
ure to convict the many fellows who have been
before our courts, no question is made that
ample justice has always been done. But
assure you that you are in error If necessary,
/ could furnish such catalogue of UNPUBLISHED
crimes as to excite wonder that lynch-law had
not been resorted to long ago. Within the last
year one of the worthiest citizens of this
ty-a young man with a wife and little chill
dren-was shot and killed without any provoca-
of ynching, but 80 plain were the facts and
strong the evidence of premeditated murder.
that those who would have taken the law
into their own hands were dissuaded
from their purpose by temperate counsels, and
the assurance that in that case. certainly, just
ice would be done. After change of venue to
another county that murderer was given q short
term of Imprisonment in the penitentlary. Two
murders have been committed here since then;
and when DR.. North lay dying from wound
received at the hands Of brutal assassin. men
Of sober Judgment were led, for the first time in
their lives. to lend their assent and sympathy
to the taking of life without form of law.
Christiancy was not insane; he was not
''crazy," as the Journal is pleased to think him.
have known him well for eight years, and I
know him to be cunning but not in any sense
crazy. He was brutal. low and vile in his in
stincts and his practices, but in
sanity clouded his mind. After
being lodged in jail Wednesday morning,
his first thought to send for q certain
criminal lawyer. whose unscrupuozs methods
have often defeated justice; and his next was to
give the cue for the only defense possible to him.
by feigning forgetfulness of all that had hap
pened How well he planned ia to be seen in
the fact that the Journal finds evidence in the
very atrocousness of his crime to sustain his
plea of insanity. II the Journal 10 deceived. is
it not possible that the same evidence, with the
fact added that hs had friends" working
upon the maudliD sympathy of q jury might
hive effected his release. L.
PERU. Ind. July s.